In the first meeting after the May 2 election, the Munising Public Schools Board of Education discussed the financial goals of the district after its sinking fund millage failed.
“I was disappointed, but not discouraged. You take a couple days and look at it again,” Munising Public School Superintendent Mike Travis said. “This is our chance to publicly acknowledge the outcome of the election and set a course for how we want to proceed.”
The 10-year millage to establish a sinking fund failed by 23 votes. It was the closest election throughout the state this May. A 48-vote swing against the proposal in Munising Township was enough to overcome victories in City of Munising, Grand Island Township and a three-vote loss in Au Train Township.
The board and school staff looked at multiple factors both internally and externally as to why the millage failed. Munising Middle/High School Principal Nicole Lasak questioned if showcasing more of the immediate needs like water damage in the library and surrounding classrooms would have made a difference in such a close election. Voter demographics and voting styles were brought up because of the impact of the snowstorms on election day.
Board Member Jenna Cole said that running on the same ballot with the MARESA special education millage was not beneficial for Munising. Alger County also voted down the MARESA millage, but Marquette County’s larger voting population flipped the vote to install the 20-year, 1.5-mill tax on properties.
“I asked friends and neighbors and they said they just couldn’t afford both of them,” Cole said.
What the school said it struggled with the most was trying to reach the voters. Board President Paula Ackerman said that without a local newspaper, many older residents were not able to join the discussion about the millage.
“It’s hard having to rely just on social media when misinformation and comments with misinformation gets posted. It’s hard to stymie that,” she said.
Travis shared that he had multiple coffee hours to answer any questions and hosted community forums, but neither event style gathered much public response.
As the school’s fiscal year is wrapping up, the school will be hosting budget workshops to reevaluate next year’s finances. A number of changes from increased per-pupil spending by the state, lesser COVID-related funds and a payout from the MARESA millage for special education programs would have an impact on top of any renovation projects.
In other board action, the board approved an approximate 4.5 percent increase to non-union employee wages and discussed possible changes in NEOLA policies.
During the summer, school board meetings will go back to Tuesdays. The next meeting is set for Tuesday, June 20 in the Middle/High School conference room.
